Incentives and Equity under Standards-Based Reform

Autor/inn/en	Costrell, Robert M.; Betts, Julian R.
Titel	Incentives and Equity under Standards-Based Reform
Quelle	In: Brookings Papers on Education Policy, (2001), S.9-74 (66 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1096-2719
DOI	10.1353/pep.2001.0001
Schlagwörter	Academic Achievement; Public Education; Educational Change; Incentives; Equal Education; Academic Standards; Change Strategies; Public Opinion; Testing; Cutting Scores; Low Achievement; Socioeconomic Influences; At Risk Students; Graduation Requirements; High School Students; State Standards; Homework; Grading; Grade Repetition; Summer Programs; Barriers; Secondary School Students; Elementary School Students; California; Massachusetts; Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System; SAT (College Admission Test) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schulleistung; Öffentliche Erziehung; Bildungsreform; Anreiz; Lösungsstrategie; Öffentliche Meinung; Testdurchführung; Testen; Unterdurchschnittliche Leistung; Sozioökonomischer Faktor; Abschlussordnung; High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Hausaufgabe; Notengebung; Schulnote; Repeat a school year; Repeating; Sitzen bleiben; Sitzenbleiben; Sommerkurs; Sekundarschüler; Kalifornien; Master-Studiengang
Abstract	Standards-based reform is a strategy that includes specifying what is to be learned, devising tests to measure learning, and establishing consequences of performance for students and schools. Popular support remains strong for standards-based reform, according to national polling data as well as local data in the states implementing this strategy. However, opposition has emerged in several states, in the run-up to full implementation of standards-based reforms. Objections fall into different categories. One source of discord concerns the content of what should be learned. This article presents the authors' theoretical and empirical analysis and review of standards in practice. The authors focus on disputes over testing and cutoff scores based on unresolved disagreements over content standards. The theoretical analysis shows that some problems alleged by critics of standards-based reform are not particularly compelling, notably those based implicitly on the logic of pooling and those concerning incentives for high-achieving students. But it also points to a trade-off between incentives for those lesser achieving students who will be stimulated to meet high standards and those low-achieving students who will be discouraged. Based on their knowledge of reform efforts in California, Massachusetts, and other states, and the theoretical and empirical research on standards, the authors identify four key obstacles that can stand in the way of higher educational standards: (1) opposition arising from concerns about the distribution of student achievement; (2) problems in defining standards and assessing students' progress toward those standards; (3) the need to align the incentives of all participants in public education; and (4) equity concerns created by the large gap in school resources that currently exists among students from various socioeconomic groups in some states. Comments by Herbert J. Walberg, Meredith Phillips, and Tiffani Chin are included. (Contains 5 figures, 4 tables, and 98 notes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Brookings Institution Press. 1775 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-536-3600; Fax: 202-536-3623; e-mail: bibooks@brookings.edu; Web site: http://www.brookings.edu
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10